Live Life by Design, Not by Default

Live Life by Design, Not by Default

The interesting thing about life is its tendency to sneak up on us. One day our whole life is in front of us, the next we’re staring at it from the rear view.

We need to be intentional if we want to live our dreams! We need to live our life by design.

Life by design ultimately means being deliberate in our thoughts and actions and committing to walk in the direction of our dreams, always.

It’s a beautiful way of life, but it’s not always easy. It requires effort – not of blood, sweat, and tears, but of focus and directed action. It insists we grow and demands we continually push past our comfort zones; that we’re always better than we were yesterday.

The greatest power lies in decision. Our ability to decide what we create is a power and a freedom that is wholly ours and will never be taken from us. If we choose to live by default instead of intention, we will be honored in that choice. We are creators, and we must create the lives we want. Otherwise, change is inevitable, but progress is not.

So we must ask ourselves –are we creating on purpose or are we living by default?

Living by default guarantees dissatisfaction and regret. If we want something different, we must act with purpose. This doesn’t mean we have to make big plans or keep a constant stream of goals on our to-do list. It does mean we need to operate with a sense of direction and clarity. It means learning what it takes to live that life and actively and persistently drawing ourselves toward it.

So what can we do to reclaim our life and live with intention?

Take full responsibility for everything in life. When we take responsibility, we immediately put ourselves in a power position. It doesn’t matter where fault lies, ultimately. If it relates to us, it’s our responsibility. Excuses only serve as justification for our decision to relinquish responsibility. People may justify, but life won’t.

Take the time to know what you want out of life. It’s easy to live by default if we aren’t crystal clear about what we want. It’s not enough to say, I want to be wealthy or successful. How? What does that look like? The clearer we can be the more wind we have behind us, pushing us forward, toward our desires.

Think like water. Be intentional and persistent even while going with the flow. We don’t have to knock down buildings, but we should stay persistent. We don’t have to know exactly how it will play out but we should be intentional. We can live in flow and take advantage of the opportunities as they come our way.

When it’s all said and done, we’re going to look back on life; let’s be sure we can say that through all the hardships and falls, we stood strong and stayed committed to living the life we wanted to live – by design.